Medical School

The University of Maryland School of Medicine announced Wednesday that it has established a program that will do in-depth scientific research on the brain. The hope is that research done from the Brain Science Research Consortium Unit can help in the development of new treatments for neurological disorders. Research will be done by scientists and medical professionals from many disciplines, including laboratory scientists and physician scientists. Dr. Bankole A. Johnson, professor and chair of the department of psychiatry and behavorial science at the medical school, will head the new unit. His research expertise deals with the psychopharmacology of medications for treating addictions.

Using live pigs to train future doctors in surgery is unethical and unnecessary, members of a health and animal rights group said Thursday during a protest of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says Hopkins is one of four schools around the country that still use animals in training. About two dozen doctors and others held signs outside Johns Hopkins Hospital reading "Baltimore Deserves Better" and "End Animal Labs.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine will use a five-year $877,000 grant on a program to increase the number of students who enter primary care fields. The school said Monday it will create a primary care track that will allow students to work one-on-one with faculty from family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine and other primary care specialties. The new program is being developed as health care reform is expected to put further pressure on primary care doctors.

Rita Sloan Berndt, a neurology professor at the University of Maryland Medical School for 25 years who studied people who suffered from aphasia, the loss of the power to use or understand words, died June 17 of lymphoma at her home in Roland Park. She was 70. Sheila Blumstein, a professor of cognitive linguistics and psychological sciences at Brown University, called her colleague and friend a force in the fields of aphasia and neuroscience. "We have yet to truly understand aphasia and the reasons behind it, but we've come a long way, and Rita was part of the reason we've come a long way," Dr. Blumstein said.

Johns Hopkins University's medical school fell one spot to No. 3 in the nation, while its education school rose to No. 2, according to the latest U.S. News and World Report graduate school rankings. The medical school ranked behind those of Harvard University and Stanford University among the top institutions for medical research. University of Maryland School of Medicine ranked No. 37. Other Maryland institutions to rank among the top 10 in their disciplines were the University of Maryland, Baltimore's Francis King Carey School of Law's part-time program, the University of Maryland, College Park's library sciences school, Johns Hopkins' public health and nursing schools and the Maryland Institute College of Art 's fine arts program.

Scientists with the University of Maryland School of Medicine are helping to test a vaccine to fight a lethal strain of bird flu that has killed 44 people in China. The H7N9 strain has not yet been found in the United States, but the medical school's Center for Vaccine Development is among nine sites around the country where researchers are participating in two clinical trials to get the vaccine ready as a precaution in case of a global pandemic. "If you wait until a pandemic has hit and start testing the vaccine, you are behind the curve," said Dr. James D. Campbell, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a lead investigator of the study.

The 200-year-old mummified remains of a small child are making their way back to the University of Maryland School of Medicine after an absence in which they were posted for sale on eBay and languished for almost five years in a Michigan police evidence room. The effort to identify the mummy's home and return it was aided by a Port Huron, Mich., police lieutenant, a couple of astute Michigan anthropologists and the curator of a mummy collection originally assembled by a convicted 19th-century Scottish grave robber.

Dr. John M. Dennis, a nationally known radiologist and former dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where his career spanned nearly half a century, died Thursday of respiratory failure at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He was 89. "This is a very sad day for us," said Dr. E. Albert Reece, vice president for medical affairs for the University of Maryland and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "He was someone who spent many years at Maryland, and even in his retirement he continued to attend major events.

The dean of Johns Hopkins Medicine sought to distance the institution from famed neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, who has made headlines for his opposition to same-sex marriage, and also promised to meet with students opposed to Carson's planned role in commencement proceedings. In his first statements about the incident, Dr. Paul B. Rothman described Carson's comments on the issue as "hurtful. " Rothman also chastised Carson, who linked same-sex marriage to bestiality, for using offensive language.

A Swiss businessman has given the The University of Maryland School of Medicine $2.5 million to create a professorship in plastic and reconstructive surgery with the first awarded to the doctor who recently performed a groundbreaking face transplant. Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez will be invested at a ceremony later this year. He led a team last year in a 36-hour face transplant that included replacement of both jaws, teeth, tongue, skin and underlying nerve and muscle tissue from the scalp to the neck.

Dr. Carolyn R. Haynie, a psychiatrist whose work with underserved children in her hometown of Baltimore became the core of a regional practice, died May 12 of breast cancer . The Mount Washington resident was 65. Raised in the Harlem Park neighborhood of West Baltimore, Dr. Haynie would become the CEO of Urban Behavioral Associates, an Old Goucher psychiatric clinic for children, teens, adults and families. Those who knew Dr. Haynie said she was driven to extend the availability of treatment to children in low-income African-American families, a resource she believed was essential for young people to become successful adults.

U.S. News and World Report ranked the Johns Hopkins University's School of Education No. 1 in the nation for graduate education programs, above two state programs better known as teaching schools: University of Maryland, College Park at No. 26 and Towson University at No. 116. The annual rankings of graduate schools in various disciplines is being released, and it gives the education program at Hopkins the top billing for the first time, up from...

The University of Maryland School of Medicine announced Wednesday that it has established a program that will do in-depth scientific research on the brain. The hope is that research done from the Brain Science Research Consortium Unit can help in the development of new treatments for neurological disorders. Research will be done by scientists and medical professionals from many disciplines, including laboratory scientists and physician scientists. Dr. Bankole A. Johnson, professor and chair of the department of psychiatry and behavorial science at the medical school, will head the new unit. His research expertise deals with the psychopharmacology of medications for treating addictions.

Dr. Peter C. Maloney, an internationally known biochemist who was a professor of physiology and associate dean for graduate students at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, died Dec. 12 of cancer at his Bare Hills home. He was 72. "Peter was such a wonderful person who did everything with grace and fairness. He was beloved by everyone," said Dr. William B. Guggino, professor of physiology and vice chair for research in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. William R. Bell, an internationally known Johns Hopkins hematologist who conducted research into bleeding and clotting disorders, died Oct. 4 of complications from a blood clot at his Roland Park home. He was 78. "Bill was one of the premier hematologists of his era, hands down. He had an international reputation and was a master clinician," said Dr. Jerry L. Spivak, a Johns Hopkins Hospital hematologist who was chief of its hematology department from 1980 to 1992. "If you were ever sick, you'd want Bill Bell for your doctor.

Scientists with the University of Maryland School of Medicine are helping to test a vaccine to fight a lethal strain of bird flu that has killed 44 people in China. The H7N9 strain has not yet been found in the United States, but the medical school's Center for Vaccine Development is among nine sites around the country where researchers are participating in two clinical trials to get the vaccine ready as a precaution in case of a global pandemic. "If you wait until a pandemic has hit and start testing the vaccine, you are behind the curve," said Dr. James D. Campbell, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a lead investigator of the study.

The dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine wants his staff to celebrate the Baltimore Ravens as they head to the Super Bowl. E. Albert Reece just doesn't want them to celebrate too much. Reece sent an email to staff this week asking them to stay professional as they root for the home team. The email read: We are very proud of the performance of the Baltimore Ravens' team, and we are clearly "rooting" for their success. However, many may choose to wear a purple accent on their clothing. I would request that we maintain the professionalism of our choices and deportment.

When one of Baltimore's premier institutions, the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, celebrated its 100th anniversary last week, its faculty and students could take special pride in the fact that after a century, the school is still on the cutting edge of medical education and research.Hopkins was the first medical school in the country to require its students to get part of their training from hands-on experience working with patients.It was the first school to systematize the hospital residency program, where students could learn from patients as well as the doctors who treated them.

Winning a $1.6 million federal grant to buy a robotic system to store 1 million blood, urine and tissue samples was easy compared to finding space for it at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The "monster" machine, to be known as the university's "bio bank," is 13 feet wide, 20 feet deep and 10 feet high, said Dr. Alan Shuldiner, associate dean for personalized medicine. But free lab space is scarce on the school's West Baltimore campus. Officials plan to put that shortage in the past with a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, marking the commencement of construction of a $305 million, 429,000-square-foot biomedical research building.

A Swiss businessman has given the The University of Maryland School of Medicine $2.5 million to create a professorship in plastic and reconstructive surgery with the first awarded to the doctor who recently performed a groundbreaking face transplant. Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez will be invested at a ceremony later this year. He led a team last year in a 36-hour face transplant that included replacement of both jaws, teeth, tongue, skin and underlying nerve and muscle tissue from the scalp to the neck.